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Locality Record of Leptobrachium Smithi Matsui, Nabhitabhata & Panha, 1999 (Anura: Megophryidae) on the North Bank of Brahmaputra River in India

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Locality Record of Leptobrachium Smithi Matsui, Nabhitabhata & Panha, 1999 (Anura: Megophryidae) on the North Bank of Brahmaputra River in India Asian Journal of Conservation Biology, December 2013. Vol. 2 No. 2, pp. 168 –171 AJCB: SC0011 ISSN 2278-7666 ©TCRP 2013 Locality Record of Leptobrachium smithi Matsui, Nabhitabhata & Panha, 1999 (Anura: Megophryidae) on the north bank of Brahmaputra river in India Dipankar Dutta1*, Jayanta Kumar Roy2, Anukul Nath2, Abhijit Das4, Saibal Sengupta1 and Amalesh Dutta3 1Department of Zoology, Arya Vidyapeeth College, Guwahati, Assam, India. 2Division of Herpetology, Aaranyak, Samanwoy Path, Beltola Survey, Guwahati, Assam, India. 3Department of Zoology, Gauhati University, Guwahati Assam, India. 4Wildlife Institute of India, Chandrabani, Dehradun Uttarakhand, India. (Accepted November 10, 2013) ABSTRACT The genus Leptobrachium Tschudi, 1838 is currently represented by 32 species all over the world distributed throughout mainland and insular Asia with two species so far from India. Leptobrachium smithi is known from Rani-Gharbhanga Landscape, Borduar-Mayang Landscape, Barail Range and Barak Valley all from south of River Brahmaputra. We herein report additional distribution records of Leptobrachium smithi from Ultapani Re- serve Forest, Shankarghala and Mathanguri of Manas National Park on the north bank of the River Brahmaputra. The report from Ultapani, Shankarghala and Mathanguri is an extension of range of species by around 100 to 176 km north. Mineralogic and stratigraphic data of Brahmaputra basin indicates that the Brahmaputra River has changed position several times during the Holocene. The presence of the species on the north bank across the river barrier may be attributed to the positional changes of the river and due to lateral shifting of the river. Key words: Leptobrachium smithi, distribution, Brahmaputra, North bank, Assam INTRODUCTION MATERIALS AND METHODS The genus Leptobrachium Tschudi, 1838 represents a Samples were observed/collected from the potential group of Megophryidae frogs and is considered to contain habitat by employing Active Visual Search Method two subgenera, Vibrissaphora Liu, 1945, with adult (Sarkar et al., 1992) and Pitfall trap (Heyer et al., 1994). males bearing spines on upper lip, and Leptobrachium, During the study stream transects was employed as sam- which is without such spines (Ohler et al., 2004). Fu et pling unit. Stream transects (following Hyer et.al.,1994) al. (2007) suggested that Leptobrachium is the sister of 50m X 2m were laid randomly along the steams and taxon of Vibrissaphora. However later Vibrissaphora was the surrounding area of the stream not extending 50 regarded as a synonym of Leptobrachium (at the level of meters from the stream and searched for the Lepto- genus) and it rejected the monophyly of Leptobrachium brachium smithi. A total 10 sampling units were laid and Vibrissaphora as subgenera (Zheng et al., 2008). each time. The sample collected from each unit was put Frost (2013) considered 32 species of the genus in moist cloth bags. On completion of the search, the as valid out of which, two species namely- Lepto- specimen collected were examined, counted, measured, brachium smithi and Leptobrachium bompu have been photographed and released back in the collected site. In reported from India (Sondhi and Ohler, 2011). The record the field, air-temperature and humidity was recorded of Leptobrachium rakhinensis (Wogan, 2012) from with a Thermo-hygrometer (VICTOR-VC230A). A Northeast India is shown to be a case of mistaken identity GarminTM GPSMAP76 GPS was used to obtain geo- (Dutta et al., 2013). graphic coordinates. Only three (3 Nos.) samples have Leptobrachium smithi was described from Thai- collected for preservation and is been deposited to Zool- land (Matsui et al., 1999) and subsequently from India ogy Department, Arya Vidyapeeth College, Guwahati, (Sengupta, Choudhury and Das, 2001), Myanmar (Das Assam India with collection no.- AVC/SJN1, AVC/ and Chanda, 2004), Laos (Stuart, 2005) and Bangladesh SJN2 and AVC/SJN3. The collected specimens were (Reza, 2009; Mahony et al., 2009). In India the species is measured with a dial caliper to the nearest 0.01 mm reported from Assam (Choudhury et al., 2002; Das et al., (Das et al., 2013). 2009; Sengupta et al., 2010; Dey, 2010), Meghalaya (as L. hasseltii) (Chanda, 1994) and Mizoram (Lalremsanga, RESULTS Sailo and Hooroo, 2007). All these localities are on the th southern bank of the river Brahmaputra in India. While On 24 July 2012, approximately between 9:15-10:30 surveying the herpetofauna in the reserve forests under PM, we came across a breeding population of Lepto- Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) in western Assam, brachium smithi in Shankarghala (26°17'33.173"N, 90° we came across specimens of Leptobrachium smithi and 32'22.914"E), Bongaigaon, District, Assam. Again, on th herein report this species occurrence along with natural 28 July 2012 at 8:10 PM, we observed one specimen history notes. *Corresponding Author’s E-mail: [email protected] 168 Dutta et al. Figure 1. Map showing distribution of Leptobrachium smithi on the north bank of the river Brahmaputra in India. (SVL: 54.12 mm) from Ultapani Reserve Forest (26° microhabitat near stream and from all records the month 46'31.822"N, 90°17'13.807"E), Kokrajhar District, As- of June and July (monsoon) seemed to be most active pe- sam. Juveniles of this species were observed near riod for this frog (Reza, 2009; Sengupta et al., 2001; Lal- Mathanguri (26o47’23.621’N, 90°54'57.717"E) of Ma- remsanga et al., 2007). nas National Park in the month of April 2007. The occurrences of this species on western As- sam, the north bank of Brahmaputra River represents the DISCUSSION northern and western most distribution limit of the species (Figure 1). The individuals of north bank match in morphometry (Table 1) with the populations of south bank of Brah- Table 1. Relative measurements of morphological pa- maputra, except for relative length of the toe I, which rameters of Leptobrachium smithi of North and South was found to be significantly higher [T :SVL= 0.105 + 1 bank of Brahmaputra. The measurements are mean + SD 0.006 against 0.079 + 0.025 of south bank population; T -Value = 5.15, P-Value = 0.001(Minitab 14 demo.ink)]. Variable North bank South bank HL:SVL 0.441 + 0.012 0.411 + 0.044 HW:SVL 0.430 + 0.008 0.408 + 0.034 SL:SVL 0.182 + 0.004 0.177+ 0.014 EN:SVL 0.098 + 0.005 0.093+ 0.011 INS:SVL 0.087 + 0.005 0.075 + 0.006 IOS:SVL 0.152 + 0.010 0.139 + 0.020 UEW:SVL 0.113 + 0.006 0.104 + 0.008 ED:SVL 0.127 + 0.004 0.131 + 0.013 HTYD:SVL 0.060 + 0.009 0.066 + 0.015 TE:SVL 0.062 + 0.009 0.060 + 0.010 TBL:SVL 0.366 + 0.005 0.364 + 0.043 Picture 1. Lateral view of Leptobrachium smithi from Shank- T1:SVL 0.105 + 0.006 0.079 + 0.025 arghola, Bongaigaon District, Assam IMT:SVL 0.034 + 0.005 0032 + 0.006 This frog inhabited semi evergreen forest between 40m to 378m altitudes above msl. Juveniles were observed CONCLUSION in moist leaf litter on stream bed. Adult frogs were ob- served in forest floor, bamboo leaf litter near stream, on Brahmaputra is often regarded as a major geographic bar- narrow forest road near stream, on wet boulder of a rier for distribution of animals (Biswas and Pawar, 2006). small perennial slow flowing stream and on sandy Mineralogic and stratigraphic data of Brahmaputra basin shore of hilly stream. The frog appeared to prefer moist indicates that the Brahmaputra river has changed positions AJCB Vol. 2 No. 2, pp. 168–171, 2013 169 Locality Record of Leptobrachium smithi several times during the Holocene. The presence of the Dey, M. 2010. A study on Habitat Selection and Prob species across the river barrier may be attributed to two able Anthropogenic Threats of Anurans in principal causes, the positional changes of the river Barak Valley, Northeast India. Assam Univer (Sengupta et al., 2009) or formation of narrow land bridges sity Journal of Science & Technology: Bio by alluvial deposition due to lateral shifting of the river logical and Environmental Sciences 6(1): 28- (Lahiri and Sinha, 2012). 36. Dutta, D., Das, A., Dutta, A., Gogoi, J. and Sengupta, Appendix 1: S. 2013. Taxonomic Status and Distribution of Leptobrachium smithi Matsui, Nabitabhata, Abbreviation used: and Panha, 1999 (Anura: Megophryidae) in SVL (Snout-vent length): Distance from tip of the snout to India with new locality records. Tropical the vent; HL (Head length): Distance between tip of the Natural History 13(2): 87-95. snout to the angle of the jaws; HW (Head width): width of Frost, Darrel R. 2013. Amphibian Species of the the head at the angle of the jaw; SL (Snout length): Dis- World: an Online Reference. Version 5.6. tance from the anterior corner of the eye to the snout tip; (http://research.amnh.org/ herpetology/ EN (Eye-nostril distance):Space between anterior corner of amphibia/index.html). American Museum of eye to nostril; INS (Inter narial space): Distance between Natural History, New York, USA. Online the nostril (dorsally); IOS (Inter orbital space):Minimum version dated 9 January 2013. distance between the eye (Dorsally); UEW (Upper eye lid Fu, J.-z., Weadick, C. J. and Bi, K. 2007. A phylogeny width) maximum width of the upper eye lid; ED (Eye di- of the high-elevation Tibetan megophryid f ameter): Horizontal length of the eye ball; HTYD rogs and evidence for the multiple origins of (Horizontal Tympanic diameter) :Horizontal distance from reversed sexual size dimorphism. Journal of the anterior to the posterior rim of the tympanum; TE Zoology 273: 315-325. (Tympanum – eye diatance): Distance from anterior corner Heyer, W. R., Donnelly, M. A., Mc Dianmid, R.
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